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Whitby and district pays tribute to Ashok
THE sudden death this week of MP Ashok Kumar -who served constituents around the Whitby area – will be a considerable loss to Parliament, local politicians have said.
Dr Kumar, who was aged 53, was found dead at his home on the outskirts of Middlesbrough on Monday.
Cleveland Police said his death is not being treated as suspicious.
Dr Kumar represented Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland whose constituency includes Boulby, Cowbar, Loftus, Skinningrove and Moorsholm.
Whitby MP Robert Goodwill said: "His death is a tremendous shock. I first met him in 1991 and he and I particularly worked together on saving jobs at Boulby potash mine on behalf of its many workers who live in our area.
"He will certainly be a great loss to Parliament. He was a scientist and we're short of them in the House of Commons.
"We relied on him particularly for information about the environment when we were dealing with those issues.
"It's very sad news especially as he was at a relatively young age. I know he was looking forward to the next election because his constituency is a key marginal seat and he was relishing the fight."
Scarborough and Whitby Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidate Annajoy David said: "Ashok gave me good advice and was really kind when I had the great pleasure of meeting him two years ago.
"His death is a terrible shock and he will be a great loss.
"Everyone says what a fantastic constituency MP he was and he will be sadly missed."
Mr Goodwill added that Prime Minister Gordon Brown led a tribute to Dr Kumar in the House of Commons following the news of his death.
Dr Kumar was born in India but came to the United Kingdom with his family when he was aged two.
He was a research chemist who moved to Teesside in 1985 originally on a short-term contract.
But he loved the area and decided to stay.
He began his career in politics when he was elected as a Labour councillor on Middlesbrough council in 1987 and then became an MP for the former Langbaurgh constituency in 1991 in a by-election.
He lost the seat in the following year's General Election but re-gained it in 1997.
Recently, he was at the forefront of the fight to retain jobs in Redcar's steel industry and was noted for his involvement in community affairs and events in his constituency.
A commemoration ceremony will be held today in Guisborough Methodist Church in the town's Westgate starting at 2pm. Anyone who would like to add a tribute to his memory will be welcome to attend.
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Weather for Scarborough
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to -1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South west
